Author Archives: Carol Edwards

As far as blackmail goes, it was a relatively small request. 

The hacker who claims to have gained access to a host of data from Ticketfly, prompting the Eventbrite-owned ticketing company to pull its site offline sometime late last night, told Mashable that he was only after a single bitcoin. 

“[Yes] i asked them 1 bitcoin for protection,” explained the hacker, who goes by IShAkDz, over email, in addition to sharing a huge repository of allegedly stolen files. “But I did not receive a reply from them.”

At the time of this writing, that comes out to around $7,500. For context, the person who hacked HBO last year wanted around $6.5 million worth of bitcoin.  Read more…

More about Hackers, Bitcoin, Ticketfly, Tech, and Cybersecurity

Online dating is hard. We get it. There are countless tweets about the difficulties of finding an internet soulmate, and a whole subreddit dedicated to telling the worst dating stories. We’ve even written multiple lists, articles, and opinion pieces about the struggles of finding love through an app. 

But nothing quite encapsulates the online dating experience like this photo of a sad claw game machine, branded with Bumble’s logo and colors. Writer Hannah Murphy snapped a picture of the game, emptier than all of Twitter’s dating prospects. 

More about Dating Apps, Twitter Reactions, Culture, and Web Culture

Read more…More about Iphone, Music Festivals, Mashable Reels, Sn Reels, and Tech

Do you love your iPhone? Like really love it? Well, Apple might just have something to say about that.

The company is reportedly working on new features for iOS that are meant to help curb our collective iPhone addiction, which will be unveiled at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

The report comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reports that Apple will introduce a new “Digital Health initiative,” which will include “a series of tools to help users monitor how much time they spend on their devices and inside of certain applications.” Read more…

More about Tech, Apple, Iphone, Apps And Software, and Tech

Have you ever tried to follow a recipe from Instagram or Pinterest, only for it to go horribly wrong?

The YouTubers behind Hellthy Junk Food attempted to recreate Tasty’s giant macaron. In the original version, chefs are able to whip up a massive pink cookie the size of a dinner plate. 

Hellthy Junk Food’s version didn’t go so well. The team’s attempt at the macaron’s shell fell flat in the oven — literally. The turquoise, rainbow tie-dye, and chocolate shells didn’t rise, so their massive macarons looked like more like unfortunate pancakes. 

Even if their macarons lacked in aesthetic, Hellthy Junk Food’s pastries still tasted good.  Read more…

More about Youtube, Food, Culture, and Web Culture

Tony award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen tackles mental health issues, anxiety, suicide, and grief in a very thought-provoking way.

Cast members Taylor Trensch and Alex Boniello sit down to discuss the show’s hopeful message, overwhelmingly positive fan response, and partnerships with various mental health charities.

Disclosure: Mashable’s Chief Operating Officer, Mike Kriak, is a producer for Dear Evan Hansen. Read more…

More about Celebrities, Mashable Video, Interview, Social Good, and Mental Health

Microsoft just earned some serious bragging rights.

The company surpassed Google owner Alphabet to become the third-most valuable company in the world, with a market cap of more than $760 billion — about $15 billion more than Alphabet.

It’s not the first time the two companies have traded places on the most valuable companies list (the first two spots belong to Apple and Amazon, respectively), but, as CNBC notes, it’s the first time Microsoft’s taken the lead over Google in a number of years. 

What’s more, the latest milestone is a noteworthy moment for Microsoft, which is finally starting to see some of its long-term bets pay off in significant ways.  Read more…

More about Tech, Google, Microsoft, Windows 10, and Tech

This year has been a pretty wild one already, but it just got stranger. 

Kim Kardashian West — like, beauty mogul and reigning queen of reality TV Kim Kardashian West — visited the White House on Wednesday to talk about prison reform with President Donald Trump. 

Trump tweeted this painful photo after the meeting: 

Naturally, the photo quickly became a meme on Twitter, because how were there two reality TV stars in the Oval Office? Read more…

More about Politics, Kim Kardashian, Twitter Reactions, Trump, and Culture

If at first you don’t succeed, maybe try launching a $300 million initial coin offering. 

That appears to be the thinking of headphone manufacturer Monster Products, Inc., which last week filed a statement with the SEC laying out its plans to sell “Monster Money Tokens” in what could charitably be described as a last grasp at relevance. 

Coindesk spotted the SEC filing in question and noted that the company perhaps most famous for losing control of Beats just so happens to have also been “losing money for years.” Monster Products is the same manufacturer that, according to an in-depth Gizmodo report, developed Beats headphones but then signed away the technology rights to Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. Read more…

More about Headphones, Cryptocurrency, Initial Coin Offering, Tech, and Other

Curious dogs will get themselves into situations you never could even imagine. 

Take this 5-month-old puppy named Teagan, who managed to get her cute little doofy head stuck in a dryer vent while her owner was out. And by stuck, we mean really stuck.

How you ask? Well, Teagan’s owner explains in the YouTube video description that the little rascal chewed out a portion of the wall and insulation behind the dryer before getting her head stuck. 

After her owner moved the dryer and the outside vent, Teagan’s head was still stuck. So, she ended up rubbing vegetable oil on her, which eventually did the trick, but not before giving her owner one last scare. Read more…

More about Funny, Dogs, Culture, and Animals